RAAF Woomera Range Complex

Coordinates: 30°57′19″S 136°31′56″E / 30.9553°S 136.5322°E / -30.9553; 136.5322
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"Woomera Test Range" redirects here. For other uses, see Woomera.

RAAF Woomera Range Complex
near Woomera, South Australia in Australia
Launch of a NASA Skylark sounding rocket from the Woomera Range Complex in c. 1961
Map of South Australia showing the land area covered by the RAAF Woomera Range Complex

Coordinates30°57′19″S 136°31′56″E / 30.9553°S 136.5322°E / -30.9553; 136.5322
Type
Area122,188 km2 (47,177 sq mi)
Site information
OwnerGovernment of South Australia
under a crown lease to the
Department of Defence
Operator Royal Australian Air Force
Open to
the public		Prohibited access except for Woomera Village and Stuart Highway
StatusActive
Site history
In use1946 (1946) – present
Test information
Nuclear tests9 (see British nuclear tests at Maralinga and Operation Totem)
Other testsMissiles, aircraft weapons, drone aircraft, rockets

The RAAF Woomera Range Complex (WRC) is a major Australian

land area of 122,188 km2 (47,177 sq mi) or roughly the size of North Korea or Pennsylvania. The airspace above the area is restricted and controlled by the RAAF for safety and security. The WRC is a highly specialised ADF test and evaluation capability operated by the RAAF for the purposes of testing defence materiel.[1]

The complex has been variously known as the Anglo-Australian Long Range Weapons Establishment and then the Woomera Rocket Range;[2][3] the RAAF Woomera Test Range and in 2013, the facility was reorganised and renamed to the RAAF Woomera Range Complex (WRC).[4][5] The ground area of the WRC is defined by the Woomera Prohibited Area (WPA) and includes the Nurrungar Test Area (NTA); with a land area of 122,188 km2 (47,177 sq mi), the WPA is described by the RAAF as the largest land-based test range in the western world.[6] The Woomera Prohibited Area Coordination Office (WPACO) coordinates daily operation of the complex which comprises a mix of South Australian crown land and is covered by pastoral leases and mining tenements granted by the Government of South Australia. The Woomera Prohibited Area Advisory Board monitors the operations of the WPA and the WPACO. The airspace above the WPA is called the Woomera Restricted Airspace (WRX) and is controlled by the RAAF for safety and security reasons during the conduct of some activities on the complex together with the support of Airservices Australia.

The complex also contains

military airfield located 3 NM (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) north[7] of the settlement of the Woomera Village. The airfield has been in military operation since a RAF Dakota landed at Woomera on 19 June 1947.[8]

Etymology and broad definitions

The word woomera is an

Group Captain Alfred George Pither.[13]

Since its establishment in 1947 and its renaming in 2016 as the RAAF Woomera Range Complex, the defence facilities have been variously known as the Anglo-Australian Long Range Weapons Establishment and then the Woomera Rocket Range between 1947 and 1980 when it was operated by the Australian Government as a Defence research and long range weapons testing range.[2] Since 1980 the complex has had various other titles and in more recent years, the RAAF facility has mainly been known as the RAAF Woomera Test Range. In 2013, and as part of the ongoing redevelopment and remediation of Woomera[14] into its 'next-generation' configuration in readiness to support the ADF's 'Force2030' plan,[15][16][17] the range facility was reorganised and renamed to the RAAF Woomera Range Complex (WRC).[4][5]

The ground area of the WRC is defined by the Woomera Prohibited Area (WPA) and includes the Nurrungar Test Area (NTA). The WPA covers an area of 122,188 km2 (47,177 sq mi)

Tarcoola-Alice Springs railway, Stuart Highway, Lake Cadibarrawirracanna Road, Olympic Dam Highway (B97), William Creek Road, as well as the Woomera Village. Permits are required to use the Anne Beadell Highway. From time to time, and for safety reasons, Defence is able to close access for short periods along these easements during the conduct of tests carried out on the complex.[18] The Woomera Prohibited Area Coordination Office (WPACO) coordinates daily operation of the complex which comprises a mix of South Australian crown land and is covered by pastoral leases and mining tenements granted by the Government of South Australia. The Woomera Prohibited Area Advisory Board monitors the operations of the WPA and the WPACO and recommends amendments to co-existence policies and procedures; develop high-level relationships between Defence and the resources sector; resolve disputes between Defence and non-Defence users; report annually on the balance of interests in the WPA; and conduct a review every seven years of the balance of interests in the WPA. Its members comprise appointments from the Australian and South Australian governments.[19]

The airspace above the WPA is an integral part of the WRC. Entry into Woomera Restricted Airspace (WRX) is controlled by the RAAF for safety and security reasons during the conduct of some activities on the complex. Airservices Australia defines the exact limits of restricted airspace in their annual handbook. When required, the RAAF issues a 'Notice to Airmen' (NOTAM) which effectively 'closes' access to any part of the WRX when safety or security needs require such action during the conduct of Defence activities at the complex.[20]

History

The groundspace of the complex is known as the Woomera Prohibited Area and measures 122,188 km2 (47,177 sq mi). It was first declared a prohibited area in 1947.[21]

Military use

Anglo-Australian

Germany's use of

Commonwealth weapons design and test program established in 1946.[4][2] In April 1946 a mission from the United Kingdom led by Lieutenant-General JF Evetts CB CBE MC flew to Mt Eba homestead to carry out the first investigation for the suitability of the area for a guided missile range. His survey and mapping adviser was Colonel Lawrence Fitzgerald OBE, Director of Military Survey, Army Headquarters. There was little in the way of adequate surveys and maps of the area and in September 1946, soon after the project was approved by the Government, a survey and mapping reconnaissance of the area from Pimba north to the Musgrave Ranges was conducted by Major Lindsay Lockwood, Officer Commanding the Army's Australian Survey Corps Detachment 5th Field Survey Company based in Adelaide. In December 1946 the Secretary of the Department of the Army directed the Survey Corps' participation in the project. A Survey Corps detachment of ten personnel from the Adelaide unit set up a survey base camp at 'The Pines' near Pimba in March 1947, to commence a topographical mapping program which continued to 1953 when responsibility for surveys were transferred to the Department of the Interior.[22][23] One member of the Survey Corps detachment which commenced work there in March 1947 was Sergeant Len Beadell.[4][24] Australia was responsible for providing the testing facilities, personnel, and most of the funding, while the United Kingdom supplied most of the scientific equipment and personnel, and in addition to its financial contribution, paid for the weapons being used.[4] At its peak, the complex had an area of 270,000 km2 (100,000 sq mi), most of which was in South Australia, but included a satellite range in north-west Western Australia.[5][25] This was later scaled back to a total area of 127,000 km2 (49,000 sq mi); still the largest land-based weapons test complex in the western world.[5][25]

Facilities at

Bloodhound surface-to-air missiles, the Black Knight research rocket, the Blue Steel nuclear stand-off missile, the Malkara anti-tank missile, the Ikara anti-submarine missile, and the GAF Jindivik target aircraft.[4] Missile testing commenced in 1949.[25]
The Joint Project ran until 1980.

When the Anglo-Australian Joint Project began to wind down in the early 1970s, the village population began to rapidly drop from its peak of about 7000 residents in the mid-1960s. However, with the establishment of the USAF/ADF Joint Defence Communications Facility at the nearby Nurrungar site in 1969, approximately 18 km (11 mi) south of Woomera, along with its 1100 permanent staff, the village population stabilised at around 4,500 people (including around 800 children). In the late 1990s, as the Nurrungar program was winding down, the ADF reassessed the role of Woomera in its future force structure. What became apparent to the ADF at that time was that the Woomera Test Range was the only land-based test range left in the Western world capable of testing the next (or what is now termed '5th'[citation needed]) generation of weapons systems within a fully instrumented, land-based, specialised test and evaluation range. This assessment was to redefine the future role and strategic importance of the Woomera Range Complex within Australia's long-term Defence requirements.

United States

Deep Space Station 41
See also: Island Lagoon Tracking Station

During the early 1960s, the Woomera Range participated in the Mercury and Gemini space programs. Specialised tracking and communications stations were established at Red Lake approximately 50 km (31 mi) north of Woomera and at Mirikata about 200 km (120 mi) west of Woomera. These stations were important during the first Moon landing mission. One significant facility installed by the US was the highly specialised "Deep Space Station 41" (DSS-41). This facility was constructed at the edge of Island Lagoon about 25 km (16 mi) south of Woomera and was directly supported from the Woomera Defence Village. DSS-41 played a role in the 'race for space' from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s, when the main tracking systems were dismantled and returned to the US. While none of the DSS-41 facility exists, the roadworks and building sites for this facility are still visible. In June 2022 Google Earth shows that a new facility has been constructed on the old DSS-41 site.

After the cancellation of the Joint Project, the complex was operated by Defence Research Centre Salisbury (former Weapons Research establishment, now

Defence Science and Technology Organisation) in support of Australian Defence projects as they arose and also in support of German and NASA Sounding Rocket launches to observe the Supernova 1987A and other astronomical experiments. Woomera then focused on supporting the nearby joint Australia-United States Joint Defence Space Communications Station, Nurrungar.[4][5]
The surveillance facility closed in 1999.

Australian

During the 1990s it became apparent to the RAAF that Woomera was the only land-based test range left in the western world that was large enough for the testing of the generation of weapons systems which Australia was soon to acquire. Beginning with the instrumented range (Range E) in 1991, the RAAF has gradually taken over responsibility for the operation of the whole complex on behalf of the Department of Defence. In 2009, Joint Project 3024 was established to upgrade the range's instrumentation systems, and Project R7034 established to upgrade and modernise the required infrastructure. These projects have a 2020 ready point to coincide with the introduction of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).

Historically, for both Woomera and Australia, following the end of the Anglo-Australian Joint Project no further development occurred to make use of the technologies, skills and knowledge gained while the Project was operating. Australia became the fourth nation in the world to build and place in orbit a satellite from its own territory (WRESAT), that was the height, and end, of Australia's foray into space activities using its own purpose-built facility at Lake Hart (the ELDO site at Launch Area 6 of the Range). These launchers (there were two, and a third never completed) are now a relic of the Range's significant history of space-based activities. These two old launchers still tower over ten stories high over the inland Lake Hart dry salt lake, but are also a mute testament to Australia's once renowned position in space research and development. That former position, however, was recognised in 2007 with the unveiling of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) plaque commemorating Woomera's induction into the AIAA hall of fame, a distinction that placed Woomera's contribution to aerospace history and development on a par with Kitty Hawk (site of the first heavier than air controlled flight), and the Sea of Tranquility on the Moon (site of the first inter-planetary landing by humans). By 1999 the Defence Science and Technology Organisation and the RAAF's Aircraft Research and Development Unit identified the future potential for the complex, particularly as it was one of the few sites in the world where over-the-horizon weapons testing was feasible.[5]

Prior to this review, the RAAF's Aircraft Research and Development Unit (ARDU), and in conjunction with the DSTO, had been continuing to utilise the former 'Range E' (instrumented) facility since 1991. In the mid-1990s, ARDU took over total management of the Range from the then DSTO but with the creation of Defence Estate, the administration of the Woomera Prohibited Area itself was handed back to Estate to manage, with RAAF only maintaining control over the defined Woomera Instrumented Test and Evaluation Range (formerly Range E and as the instrumented portion of the WPA was then known). Over the following ten years (1997–2007), the RAAF re-defined the purpose and operation of the range and, by 2007, Chief of Air Force had again assumed full command of the entire Woomera Test Range Complex (i.e. both the Range and the Base).

The RAAF Woomera Test Range (WTR) is the principal formation of the WRC and the primary operational reason for the existence of the Range Complex. Access to and use of the WRC is managed through Headquarters, Air Warfare Centre RAAF, with the AWC's Air Force Ranges Directorate (AFRD) responsible for assuring the overall capabilities of the Range. The day-to-day operation of the WTR element of the WRC is the responsibility of the Woomera Test Range Squadron (WTR SQN). In this role, the WTR SQN is also directly supported by Headquarters AWC; No. 20 Squadron RAAF; and Defence contractors permanently based at RAAF Base Woomera. In 2007, the Woomera Test Range was acknowledged by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) as a site of world aerospace historical significance.

In 2016 the Australian Government announced plans for an A$297-million remediation of the range and the upgrade of the measuring and monitoring and sensor systems at Woomera.

F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and provide access for the United States military.[27] Raytheon announced that the range would be challenged by the testing of "new remotely piloted air systems, evolved network centric warfare capabilities, and weapons fitted to the EA-18G Growlers and Joint Strike Fighters" after the upgrade.[28]

The base was also used for testing of the Blue Streak missile system.[citation needed]

Other military uses

In 2013 testing began on

drone aircraft.[4][5][30]

Civil aerospace use

The complex has also been used for

Prospero X-3 in 1971.[25] Australia's first satellite, WRESAT, was launched from Woomera in 1967. The complex was awarded a National Engineering Landmark in 1999.[31] Although initially allowed to lapse after the cancellation of the Joint Project, the use of the range for rocket research later increased.[4] In 2002, the University of Queensland launched a rocket carrying the HyShot engine: the first successful flight of a hypersonic scramjet engine.[4]

During the Cold War, Woomera had the second highest quantity and rate of rocket launches in the world after NASA's facilities at Cape Canaveral.[30]

Between 1957 and 2007, over 518 launches from Woomera were recorded.[32]

Other launches included:

  • 1957 to 1987, 258 Skylark rockets were launched with various agencies including the UK, the European Space Agency and the German Aerospace Center[33]
  • In the 1970s, NASA launched 20 Aerobee series 150, 170, 200 and 200A rockets for experimental purposes.
  • In 1995, NASA launched its last rocket from the range.[34]
  • On 9 July 2017 a
    hypersonic mission, which impacted on the range.[32]

Asteroid sampling spacecraft retrieval:

Launch areas

Several launch areas have been used over the years:[37]

Current uses

Baker Observatory

The Woomera Baker Observatory lies within the WPA. There is a public

corrector plate had been accidentally cracked.[53]

Other uses

In 2004,

V8 Supercars team Team Dynamik were discovered to be conducting illegal vehicle testing at the Woomera site. The team claimed they were testing an aerodynamic enhancement device but were later fined AU$132,000 for breaching series' testing regulations.[54]

In 2011 Federal Defence Minister

better source needed
]

Non-defence users of the area include pastoralists,

Prominent Hill copper mine and the Cairn Hill iron ore mine. As of 2017, only Prominent Hill[57] is operational. Peculiar Knob is in care and maintenance owing to a weak iron ore price, while ore bodies at Cairn Hill and Challenger have been exhausted.[citation needed
]

Management

Land area management and administration

Effective from 1 January 2015, the management of the Woomera Range Complex was reorganised under the new RAAF Air Warfare Centre (AWC).[58][59] Operations management of the complex are managed through Headquarters Air Warfare Centre, while day-to-day operation of the range is the responsibility of the Woomera Test Range Squadron, which was expected to be renamed to a 'numbered' squadron during 2016. The Woomera Test Range Squadron is a sub-element of the Air Force Ranges Directorate (AFRD), which is also part of the Air Warfare Centre. Headquarters AWC, Air Force Ranges Directorate and the Test Range Squadron are all currently based at RAAF Base Edinburgh, in Adelaide, located approximately 450 km (280 mi) south-west of the complex. RAAF Base Woomera was formed in January 2015 by amalgamation of RAAF Woomera Airfield and the Woomera Village.[58] No.20 (Woomera) Squadron was formed on 1 April 2015 to manage the operation of the aerodrome, while the Woomera 'village' element of RAAF Base Woomera essentially continues to operate as it has done since 1982. The Defence Estate & Infrastructure Group manage the operations of the village within the new RAAF Base Woomera structure, but the village remains open to the public as it has been since 1982. The Village remains totally owned and operated by Defence and exclusively supports the needs of Defence activities at the WRC.[58]

Access is managed by the Department of Defence Woomera Prohibited Area Coordination Office using a permit system.[60]

Security

Warning sign on the Stuart Highway

There are a considerable number of warning signs across the range and on public access roads throughout the WPA warning travellers not to leave those routes without the permission of the Department of Defence. Since the beginning of 2012, the RAAF has also established, in conjunction with the South Australian Police, regular patrols of all roads and sites across the WPA to ensure public safety, particularly during periods when Range activities necessitate the closure of public access roadways and other easements (such at the main trunk railway line to Darwin).

RAAF Base Woomera

Main article: RAAF Base Woomera

RAAF Base Woomera is co-managed, but as part of the wider WRC facility, by RAAF Combat Support Group (CSG) and the Defence Estate & Infrastructure Group (DEIG). CSG's role, delivered through No.20 (Woomera) Squadron, is to essentially operate the aerodrome precinct ('Base Sector North') element of the base in direct support of Defence activities at the WRC. DEIG's role with the WRC is two-fold; firstly DEIG is responsible for the operation of the 'village' support elements of the base (i.e. 'Base Sector South') such as messing, accommodation, security and other normal RAAF Base services and, secondly, DEIG are responsible for managing the wider Defence estate and infrastructure needs of the entire Range and Base complex. Consistent with the operation of all other RAAF Bases, DEIG manages a range of contractors to Defence to deliver the required services at Woomera.

Woomera Prohibited Area Advisory Board

The Woomera Prohibited Area Advisory Board monitors the operations of the Woomera Prohibited Area Coordination Office and meets semi-annually to recommend amendments to co-existence policies and procedures; develop high-level relationships between Defence and the resources sector; resolve disputes between Defence and non-Defence users; report annually on the balance of interests in the WPA; and conduct a review every seven years of the balance of interests in the WPA. As of 2017, the WPA Advisory Board membership included:[61]

Name Position Relevant roles
The Hon. Amanda Vanstone Chair Former
Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs
The Hon. Paul Holloway Deputy Chair Former Minister for Mines & Energy, Government of South Australia
Air Marshal
AO, CSC
 Chief of Air Force
Dr Paul Heithersay PSM Deputy Chief Executive,
Olympic Dam Task Force
, Government of South Australia
Andy Keough CSC CEO Defence SA, Government of South Australia
Mark Lawson Deputy Secretary,
Department of Industry, Innovation and Science
, Australian Government
Rebecca Skinner Deputy Secretary, Department of Defence, Australian Government

Minutes of the Board from 2012 to 2016 were partially released following a Freedom of Information request in 2016.[62]

Aboriginal sites

Large areas within the Woomera Prohibited Area overlap with the

Tjukurpa (Dreaming) stories, in particular that of the Seven Sisters creation story. In particular, the black oak trees are relate to male Kokatha connections to this storyline.[63]

In 2021, an

Aboriginal heritage site, about 50 km (31 mi) southeast of the trees, and this was not removed for about a year.[63]
Within the prohibited area, there is also a "red zone" which is used for the most intensive weapons testing and for which access permits are not generally issued, and this area is purported to be cleaned by the Department of Defence and the trees protected when testing is under way. However, a 2022 inspection by
carbon fibre on the dunes around the site.[63]

There are also a number of significant and rare

archaeological sites which are remnants of previous Kokatha habitation within the weapons testing range, which are described in a 2020 heritage management plan prepared for the Department of Defence by GML Heritage Consultants.There are at least 14 separate stone foundations at Lake Hart North (which is not used by the department), which the archaeologists surmised were either "habitation structures" or "low-walled hunting hides".[64]

At another location, Wild Dog Creek, there are a number of

Aboriginal Australian rock art exists throughout the area, including at Lake Hart, portraying, among other things, footprints which match the Genyornis, a giant bird that went extinct thousands of years ago.[64]

The report states that the location was likely "inhabited and used for many thousands of years", informally dated to up to 50,000 years ago (similar to human habitation in the nearby Flinders Ranges), and the sites could provide hitherto unknown cultural information about the Australian desert area.[64]

See also

References

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Further reading

External links
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